Among the many surprises Rick Majerus sprung on me when we met for lunch on a sunny February day nearly two years ago was his insistence that he drive. I wouldn’t exactly call Cincinnati “my town” because I spend so many days in my home office or on the road, but my time there is well into its second decade. Wouldn’t I know better where to dine?

The answer to that was surprise No. 2: Absolutely not. As we drove from the Kingsgate Marriott toward the restaurant of his choice down the street in the city’s Clifton neighborhood, we passed maybe a half-dozen establishments I’d never visited. He graded them all for me: Good sandwiches here, good pizza there.

Oh, and the third surprise? He chose to dine at Skyline Chili.

It didn’t matter where we were eating; I just was looking forward to talking ball for as long as he would allow. We were there nearly two hours. When I ordered a baked potato, and only a baked potato, he snapped, “That’s all you want? Are you a vegetarian?” I’ll always laugh and at the shock in his voice. It is a lovely memory to recall on this, the day Rick Majerus passed away.

If you knew him at all, you’ve been fearing this day for years. Death is inevitable for all of us, but his always seemed more present, like it was waiting in the next room. Majerus had heart issues for two decades. His obvious weight problems not only exacerbated that concern but also played in a role in other ailments and injuries, such as when a player flew over the sideline and knocked him into the scorer’s table during a game during the 2010-11 season, severely gashing Majerus’ leg. Because of the blood thinners he took, stopping the bleeding was a terrible challenge.

“When you get in your 60s,” Majerus said that day, “something’s going to get you.” He was 64 when he ran out of time.

Majerus coached in college at Marquette, Ball State, Utah and Saint Louis. He led Utah to the 1998 NCAA championship game, one of the few recent coaches to get that far from beyond the advantages of the most powerful conferences. He compiled a 517-216 record and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, and only once did he fail to advance a round. He never got an elite job, but he won NCAA Tournament games at each of his last three stops. His NCAA victims include some of the biggest names: North Carolina, Arizona, Memphis, Pitt.

He spoke at our lunch of how he accepted the Southern Cal job in 2004, then gave it back a few days later. He said afterward it was a matter of his health not being strong enough to allow his return, but it was more about the deep devotion to his mother, who lived in Milwaukee and was concerned he’d be so far away from home.

“You’ve only got one mom,” he said. “I have a great mom. When I took the USC job, I tried to move my mom and my sisters and my nieces all out there.” When his mother resisted, he relented and went back to doing television until he got the opportunity to coach Saint Louis in 2007.

He was near the end of his last losing season on the day of that lunch. His team had two suspended starters and injuries on top of that. The Billikens gave a terrific Xavier team fits the next day, because the players Majerus had left ran their oh-fense—Majerus' pronunciation—so beautifully the Musketeers struggled to defend them, but ultimately SLU fell in that game. They finished the season 12-19.

Majerus all but promised, though, that the next season’s team would make it back. “I’d like to build it up and go to another NCAA, and I think we will,” he said.

And so they did. The last team Majerus coached showed off his unparalleled skill for teaching offensive basketball. No player on the team averaged even 14 points, and the Billikens shot under 45 percent from the field. But their precision helped them close the regular season with nine victories in the final 11 games and earn that tournament bid he wanted so dearly.

Majerus did not waste that final opportunity. His Billikens spun the Memphis Tigers in circles during the opening game for each, and the top-seeded Michigan State Spartans were nearly as perplexed in the game to decide which reached the Sweet 16. Coming off Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships, MSU led the Billikens by only a basket inside the final three minutes but stretched that out and celebrated in the end.

In the last game he ever coached, Majerus, as ever, put on a clinic.

“I didn't know who would win, but I told my guys I know what good a coach he is,” Michigan State’s Tom Izzo said. “He did an incredible job.”

“Coach has done so much. Being his first recruiting class, he told me that we were going to help him build something special here. And it felt like this year it really came together,” Conklin said. “He's a great coach. I couldn't imagine playing for a better coach, a better person. He doesn't just teach you about basketball, it's about life.

“And he's a great figure for the community and for the city, and he's really brought Saint Louis basketball to where it is right now, bringing in great guys. We all love each other in that locker room. And he just knows how to read a person, and he brings us all together and we buy into his system because it works, and it brought us this far this year. And you know they've got a great nucleus coming back next year and they're going to be a really tough team, really tough guards, because it's the guy that's leading it.”

Majerus was unable to lead another team. His failing health demanded he take a leave of absence on the eve of the season, and SLU announced early last month he would no longer be coaching the team. Saturday, it became all too clear why.